The high court in Johannesburg has reserved judgment on former president Jacob Zuma’s application to compel retired justice Sisi Khampepe to disclose her e-mails sent to advocate Ismael Semenya amid allegations of bias and collusion.
The interlocutory application for disclosure of Khampepe’s communication is made by Zuma in his application seeking for Khampepe to step down as chair of the judicial commission of inquiry established to determine whether attempts were made to prevent the investigation and prosecution of apartheid-era crimes.
Zuma, in his court papers, argues a whistleblower reported Khampepe committed actions that amount to bias, gross misconduct or corruption in that she allegedly colluded with the commission evidence leader, Semenya, in the application that sought Semenya’s recusal from the commission in November 2025.
The whistleblower alleged Khampepe advised Semenya of weaknesses in his case and “even went as far as sharing research in her possession regarding the dispute and telling him to convey certain tips to advocate Vas Soni SC, who was representing Semenya SC”.
Zuma contends the allegation points to bias and gross misconduct in relation to Khampepe and he wants the court to issue an order for disclosure of e-mails between Khampepe and Semenya.
“The party has an obligation to disclose [the e-mails]. The existence of the e-mails has not been denied,” Zuma’s legal representative, Dali Mpofu, argued in court on Monday.
The full bench decided to reserve judgment on the application for disclosure of the e-mails. The court continues to hear the main application in which Zuma and former president Thabo Mbeki want Khampepe to be recused
The commission, in its court papers, denied the allegations against Khampepe but did not file an answering affidavit opposing the application for disclosure of the e-mails.
“President Zuma is not at liberty simply to make unfounded allegations on the basis that a reverse onus will then be imposed on the respondents [commission] to divulge private communications notwithstanding the absence of any truth or substance to the allegations,” the commission’s statement reads.
Mpofu argued the court should grant the order because the interlocutory application was not opposed.
Commission representative Tembeka Ngcukaitobi argued the court had no competence to hear the “invalid” main application and therefore could not decide on the interlocutory application, which sought disclosure of e-mails, without deciding on the validity of the main application.
The full bench decided to reserve judgment on the application for disclosure of the e-mails. The court continues to hear the main application in which Zuma and former president Thabo Mbeki want Khampepe to be recused.
Zuma argues Khampepe cannot lead the commission because she was a member of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and its amnesty committee, appointed by late president Nelson Mandela in 1995, and served as the deputy national director of public prosecutions from September 1998 to December 1999.
The commission is tasked with probing whether there was political infiltration in the NPA that caused delays in the prosecution of TRC cases.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, who appointed Khampepe, did not oppose the application.
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